PRAYING LIKE YOU MEAN IT (6 OF 6)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: James 5:13-18
This content is part of a series.
Praying Like You Mean It (6 of 6)
Series: Fake News
Jeff Strite
James 5:13-18
I read the true story of a couple of men from Alberta, Canada who were driving home late one night. The weather was freezing - well below zero. Somehow, they ran off the road and got stuck in a ditch. And - as far as they could see - there was no one around for miles. They knew they were in danger of freezing to death so, to keep warm they pulled the seats out of their Honda and lit them on fire. As the blaze began to die down they tossed all of their belongings they weren't wearing on as well, but they only burned for a short time. Finally, they lit the entire car on fire. As daybreak approached, the men saw they were within walking distance of nearby house, so they went there to get warm and that's where police found them.
Now, what is odd about this story is that the men didn't have to burn their car.
Can you guess why they didn't have to burn the car?
(I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket). They had cell phones... and they had service. All they had to do was ''call'' and help would have come. But because they failed to THINK about their phones they destroyed everything they had.
You might ask: Jeff, why didn't these men use their cell phones? (I waited till someone in the audience asked that question) I'm glad you asked. I have no idea why they didn't use their phones. They had communication devices they didn't use but it's a mystery as to why. But now the question for us today is, why don't Christians use a much more advanced communication device they've been given more often than we do? It's a communication device given to us by God. It's called prayer.
ILLUS: A man named Larry Davies once told of the time he asked his class: ''Does God answer prayers?'' And the class erupted with answers like ''Of course.'' ''Yes.'' And ''Always.'' He paused a moment and then said: ''Well if that's true - why don't we pray more often?'' There was an uncomfortable silence in ...
Series: Fake News
Jeff Strite
James 5:13-18
I read the true story of a couple of men from Alberta, Canada who were driving home late one night. The weather was freezing - well below zero. Somehow, they ran off the road and got stuck in a ditch. And - as far as they could see - there was no one around for miles. They knew they were in danger of freezing to death so, to keep warm they pulled the seats out of their Honda and lit them on fire. As the blaze began to die down they tossed all of their belongings they weren't wearing on as well, but they only burned for a short time. Finally, they lit the entire car on fire. As daybreak approached, the men saw they were within walking distance of nearby house, so they went there to get warm and that's where police found them.
Now, what is odd about this story is that the men didn't have to burn their car.
Can you guess why they didn't have to burn the car?
(I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket). They had cell phones... and they had service. All they had to do was ''call'' and help would have come. But because they failed to THINK about their phones they destroyed everything they had.
You might ask: Jeff, why didn't these men use their cell phones? (I waited till someone in the audience asked that question) I'm glad you asked. I have no idea why they didn't use their phones. They had communication devices they didn't use but it's a mystery as to why. But now the question for us today is, why don't Christians use a much more advanced communication device they've been given more often than we do? It's a communication device given to us by God. It's called prayer.
ILLUS: A man named Larry Davies once told of the time he asked his class: ''Does God answer prayers?'' And the class erupted with answers like ''Of course.'' ''Yes.'' And ''Always.'' He paused a moment and then said: ''Well if that's true - why don't we pray more often?'' There was an uncomfortable silence in ...
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